Wander the Queen’s starry court

Smack dab within the Milky Way, Cassiopeia offers observers many worthy sights. | Published: July 29, 2026 Cassiopeia and its distinctive W-shaped asterism rise above the erupting volcano Mount Etna on the island of Sicily, Italy. Credit: Giovanni Tumino Cassiopeia (pronounced kass ee oh pee’ uh) the Queen is one of the first constellations amateur astronomers come to recognize. That’s because its five brightest stars form an asterism that looks like a large letter W. Cassiopeia is observable in the autumn and winter throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It lies opposite the Sun in early October. And if your location on Earth is at 46° north latitude or higher, this constellation is circumpolar, meaning that it will never set. Among the 88 official constellations, Cassiopeia ranks as the 25th largest and 30th brightest. It contains four stars (Alpha [α], Beta [β], Gamma [γ], and Delta [δ] Cassiopeiae) that are among the top 200 brightest in the sky. Wander the Queen’s Starry Court Explore Cassiopeia Tap to discover deep-sky objects Explore more of the night sky with our other interactive deep-sky tours: Underappreciated Serpens What’s lurking in Lynx? Spend some time in Auriga Observe the deep sky in Ara Discover deep-sky gems in Ophiuchus Michael Bakich has spent his life immersed in astronomy, earning two degrees in the field, authoring seven books, and joining Astronomy magazine in 2003. When not writing or leading tours to eclipses and historical astronomy sites worldwide, he enjoys woodworking, science-fiction movies, and collecting rare 19th-century astronomy books from his home in Tucson.